Fitness as a Vehicle, "The Iron" By Henry Rollins
I've got another Motivation Monday for you all! And this time, it's a reading of one of my all-time favorite essays that one of my best friends, Cullen, introduced me to.
"IRON AND THE SOUL" BY: HENRY ROLLINS
This may be a familiar to you if you're familiar with me, my website, and my philosophy at all. That's because "The Iron" is the essay I reference when I describe my mission!
These are the quotes I reference on that page:
“IT TOOK ME YEARS TO FULLY APPRECIATE THE VALUE OF THE LESSONS I HAVE LEARNED FROM THE IRON. I USED TO THINK THAT IT WAS MY ADVERSARY, THAT I WAS TRYING TO LIFT THAT WHICH DOES NOT WANT TO BE LIFTED. I WAS WRONG. WHEN THE IRON DOESN’T WANT TO COME OFF THE MAT, IT’S THE KINDEST THING IT CAN DO FOR YOU. IF IT FLEW UP AND WENT THROUGH THE CEILING, IT WOULDN’T TEACH YOU ANYTHING. THAT’S THE WAY THE IRON TALKS TO YOU. IT TELLS YOU THAT THE MATERIAL YOU WORK WITH IS THAT WHICH YOU WILL COME TO RESEMBLE.”
— "THE IRON", HENRY ROLLINS
IF YOU LOVED THAT, CHECK OUT THE VIDEO BELOW FOR THE FULL ESSAY...
To me - health and fitness are a vehicle for personal transformation. It is not the end all be all to only focus on your physical transformation, which I'll describe more in a second. But it is an incredibly important metaphorical representation of mental transformation. Initially, health & fitness give you confidence because of your pride in your newly revamped outward appearance (let's face it - it all starts with vanity). But, the power of health and fitness comes because you eventually come to see the trials and tribulations of improving your fitness as a representation of life.
Fitness is cathartic. It's therapeutic. It's a healthy place to channel frustration and anxiety. More than that though, it's an avenue for developing focus, mental toughness, dedication, commitment, inner strength, etc. In fact, I'm just going to quote Henry Rollins again because he says it so well...
“MUSCLE MASS DOES NOT ALWAYS EQUAL STRENGTH. STRENGTH IS KINDNESS AND SENSITIVITY. STRENGTH IS UNDERSTANDING THAT YOUR POWER IS BOTH PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL. THAT IT COMES FROM THE BODY AND THE MIND. AND THE HEART.”
The tests we put ourselves through physically transcend the rest of our life. The confidence we feel about our physical appearance will transcend into how we feel about ourselves internally. The habits we develop in healthy & fitness will improve our day-to-day productivity and life. Not only that, but when you have a healthy body, you have the energy and the vitality to do more in your life with your family, in your work, etc. That's why health & fitness are so important to me.